The shape of the letter tau or T was interpreted as representing a crucifix from antiquity. The staurogram, from Greek ΣTAΥPOΣ "cross", was a tau-rho ligature used to abbreviate the Greek word for cross in very early New Testamentmanuscripts such as P66, P45 and P75.[2] The tau was also considered a symbol of salvation due to the identification of the tau with the sign which in Ezechiel 9:4 was marked on the forehead of the saved ones (וְהִתְוִיתָ תָּו עַל־מִצְחֹות הָאֲנָשִׁים "set a mark (tav; after the Phoenician cross-shape 𐤕) on the forehead of the men"), or due to the tau-shaped outstretched hands of Moses in Exodus 17:11.[2]